Signaling processing method, base station, and user equipment

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a signaling processing method. The method includes: in a downlink subframe set, generating a downlink assignment index (DAI) respectively for a downlink subframe that has a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to be sent, where a value of the DAI is generated according to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier first and then subframe; and sending the PDCCH to the user equipment, where the PDCCH carries the DAI. According to the embodiments of the present invention, a transmission delay is shortened and transmission efficiency is improved.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2010/076934, filed on Sep. 15, 2010, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 200910092683.7, filed on Sep. 15, 2009,both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communicationtechnologies, and in particular, to a signaling processing method, abase station, and a user equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, hereinafter referred toas LTE) time division duplex (Time Division Duplex, hereinafter referredto as TDD) system, one uplink subframe needs to feed back responseinformation of multiple downlink subframes. An acknowledgement (ACK,Acknowledgement) indicates that a UE correctly receives a correspondingtransmission block transmitted on a corresponding physical downlinkshared channel (Physical Downlink Shared Channel, hereinafter referredto as PDSCH). A negative acknowledgement (NACK, NegativeAcknowledgement) indicates that a UE incorrectly receives acorresponding transmission block transmitted on a corresponding PDSCH.Discontinuous transmission (DTX, Discontinuous Transmission) indicatesthat a UE does not receive a corresponding transmission blocktransmitted on a corresponding PDSCH. In the LTE TDD system, modes fortransmitting the response information of multiple downlink subframes inone uplink subframe may include a bundling mode and a multiplexing mode.In the LTE TDD system, a downlink assignment index (DAI, downlinkassignment index) needs to be used to indicate scheduling information ofthe downlink subframes. The DAI is 2-bit information carried in downlinkcontrol information (DCI, downlink control information).

A DAI mechanism of the LTE TDD system is directly introduced into a longterm evolution-advanced (Long Term Evolution-Advanced, LTE-A) system.Each carrier uses an independent DAI for counting, and bundled responseinformation is transmitted on a physical uplink control channel(Physical Uplink Control Channel, hereinafter referred to as PUCCH)resource. The PUCCH resource is obtained according to a control channelelement (CCE, Control Channel Element) with a minimum number on aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH, Physical Downlink ControlChannel). The PDCCH is the PDCCH corresponding to a last downlinksubframe received by the UE on multiple carriers. However, the PDCCH maynot be a last PDCCH sent by the base station to the UE. The DAI cannotbe used to detect whether another PDCCH is lost after the UE receivesthe PDCCH. Consequently, a mistake that the DTX is determined as an ACKmay be caused, and the mistake can only be rectified by upper-layerretransmission. This prolongs a transmission delay of data sent by thebase station to the UE, and reduces transmission efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a signaling processingmethod, a base station, and a user equipment to solve the problem that atransmission delay is prolonged and that transmission efficiency is low.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a signaling processingmethod, including:

in a downlink subframe set, generating, by a base station, a downlinkassignment index (DAI) respectively for a downlink subframe that has aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to be sent, where a value ofthe DAI is generated according to a preset rule and a sequence ofcarrier first and then subframe; and

sending, by the base station, the PDCCH to a user equipment, where thePDCCH carries the DAI.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another signalingprocessing method, including:

receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) sent by a base station, where the PDCCH carries a downlinkassignment index (DAI), and a value of the DAI is generated according toa preset rule and a sequence of carrier first and then subframe;

obtaining, by the UE, the total number U_(DAI) of received PDCCHs, andobtaining a value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of a DAI on a last PDCCH among thereceived PDCCHs; and

sending, by the UE, response information to the base station on acorresponding physical uplink channel of the UE according to the totalnumber U^(DAI) of PDCCHs and the value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI on thelast PDCCH.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a base station,including:

a generating module, configured to generate, in a downlink subframe set,a downlink assignment index (DAI) respectively for a downlink subframethat has a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to be sent, where avalue of the DAI is generated according to a preset rule and a sequenceof carrier first and then subframe; and

a transmitter, configured to send the PDCCH to a user equipment, wherethe PDCCH carries the DAI.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a userequipment, including:

a receiver, configured to receive a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) sent by a base station, where the PDCCH carries a downlinkassignment index (DAI), and a value of the DAI is generated according toa preset rule and a sequence of carrier first and then subframe;

a obtaining module, configured to obtain the total number U_(DAI) ofreceived PDCCHs, and obtain a value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of a DAI on a lastPDCCH among the received PDCCHs; and

a feedback module, configured to send response information to the basestation on a corresponding physical uplink channel according to thetotal number U_(DAI) of PDCCHs and the value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI onthe last PDCCH.

According to the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, for adownlink subframe that has a PDCCH to be sent, a value of a DAI isdetermined for the PDCCH. The value of the DAI is generated according tothe preset rule and the sequence of carrier first and then subframe. Thebase station can obtain the number of downlink subframes which havePDCCHs to be sent and are before each downlink subframe that carries thePDCCH. In this way, no matter whether the UE detects all PDCCHs sent bythe base station or the UE does not detect one or multiple PDCCHs, thebase station does not mistakenly determine DTX as an ACK, which reducesthe transmission delay and improves the transmission efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a signaling processing methodaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a signaling processingmethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a signaling processingmethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a signaling processingmethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a basestation according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a userequipment according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a userequipment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions disclosed in the embodiments of the presentinvention are clearly and completely described below with reference tothe accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.Evidently, the embodiments to be described are only part of rather thanall of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on theembodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained bypersons of ordinary skill in the art without making creative effortsshall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

An LTE-A (Long Term Evolution-Advanced, hereinafter referred to asLTE-A) system needs to support a wider bandwidth than an LTE system.Therefore, multiple carriers may be aggregated. Resources on theaggregated carriers may be concurrently scheduled for a UE for using.

Table 1 is a mapping table of values of a DAI. As shown in Table 1, thefirst column lists a 2-bit DAI, where an MSB is a most significant bitand an LSB is a least significant bit. According to a ratio of an uplinksubframe to a downlink subframe, response information of multipledownlink subframes is transmitted in a same uplink subframe. In thesecond column, V_(DAI) ^(UL) indicates the total number of physicaldownlink shared channels (Physical Downlink Shared Channel, hereinafterreferred to as PDSCH) scheduled for a user in multiple downlinksubframes, and V_(DAI) ^(DL) indicates a value of a DAI in a lastdownlink subframe that is allocated a corresponding physical downlinkcontrol channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel, hereinafter referredto as PDCCH) resource among PDSCHs detected by a user equipment (UserEquipment, hereinafter referred to as UE). The third column indicatesthe number of downlink subframes which have PDSCHs to be transmitted andare among the downlink subframes whose response information is to betransmitted in an uplink subframe. For example, in an LTE TDD system, ifresponse information of M downlink subframes is transmitted in an uplinksubframe, L indicates an accumulated value of any subframe that has thePDCCH and a subframe which is before the subframe and has a PDCCHallocated resource among the M downlink subframes (corresponding to thevalue in the 3^(rd) column in Table 1). The value of the DAI is (L−1)mod4+1.

1. Table 1

TABLE 1 DAI The Number of Subframes MSB (Most Significant Bit), V_(DAI)^(UL) or That Have a PDSCH LSB (Least Significant Bit) V_(DAI) ^(DL) toBe Transmitted 0, 0 1 1 or 5 or 9 0, 1 2 2 or 6 1, 0 3 3 or 7 1, 1 4 0or 4 or 8

When transmitting response information in a bundling mode, the UE maycount the detected downlink subframes that have the PDCCH to be sent toobtain the total number U_(DAI) of downlink subframes that have thePDCCH to be sent. The UE may also detect the value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of theDAI in the last downlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent. IfU_(DAI)>0, and V_(DAI) ^(DL)≠(U_(DAI)−1)mod 4+1, the UE may detect thatat least one PDCCH of the downlink subframes is lost, and the responseinformation of at least one downlink subframe is DTX. In this case, theUE does not feed back response information to a base station and feedsback the response information in a last subframe because the bundlingmode is used. For a last PDCCH received by the UE, through the foregoingDAI procedure, it may be detected whether any PDCCH is lost before thelast PDCCH. However, the last PDCCH received by the UE may not be a lastPDCCH sent by the base station to the UE. In this case, through theforegoing DAI procedure, it cannot be detected whether the at least onelast PDCCH sent by the base station is lost. When detecting, accordingto the value of the DAI, that no PDCCH is lost, the UE may use thebundling mode to send bundled response information on a physical uplinkcontrol channel (Physical Uplink Control Channel, hereinafter referredto as PUCCH) corresponding to a control channel element (control channelelement, hereinafter referred to as CCE) with a minimum number of thePDCCH in the detected last downlink subframe.

The LTE-A system directly introduces a DAI mechanism in the LTE TDDsystem. Each carrier uses an independent DAI for counting, and thebundled response information is transmitted on a PUCCH resourcecorresponding to the CCE with the minimum number of the last PDCCHreceived by multiple carriers. However, the last PDCCH received by theUE may not be the last PDCCH sent by the base station to the UE. Throughthe DAI procedure, whether another PDCCH is lost cannot be detectedafter the UE receives the PDCCH. Consequently, a mistake that the DTX isdetermined as an ACK may be caused, and the mistake can only berectified by upper-layer retransmission. This prolongs a transmissiondelay of the user, and reduces transmission efficiency.

To solve the foregoing technical problems, embodiments of the presentinvention provide a signaling processing method. To make the objectives,technical solutions, and merits of the present invention clearer, thefollowing further describes the technical solutions disclosed in thepresent invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawingsand embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a signaling processing methodaccording to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the method inthis embodiment may include:

Step 101: In a downlink subframe set, generate a downlink assignmentindex (DAI) respectively for a downlink subframe that has a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) to be sent, where a value of the DAI isgenerated according to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier first andthen subframe.

A UE needs to feed back response information for downlink data sent in adownlink subframe by a base station on a physical downlink sharedchannel, and time when the response information is fed back has asystem-predefined delay against time when the physical downlink controlchannel is sent. In an LTE-A TDD system, all downlink subframes of allcomponent carriers, where response information of all downlink subframesis fed back at same uplink time according to the system-predefineddelay, form one or multiple downlink subframe sets. At uplink time, whenthe user equipment sends all response information on a same physicaluplink channel, a downlink subframe set is formed; when the userequipment sends different response information on different physicaluplink channels, multiple downlink subframe sets are formed, where eachdownlink subframe set is formed by downlink subframes whose responseinformation is sent on the same physical uplink channel. The downlinksubframe set includes the downlink subframes of all component carriers,where response information of the downlink subframes is sent on the samephysical uplink channel. The physical uplink channel may include aphysical downlink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical downlink sharedchannel (PUSCH). When the response information of the downlink subframeset is transmitted on the same physical uplink channel, the samephysical uplink channel may include one or multiple channels accordingto whether a PUCCH transmit diversity technology is used.

The PDCCH may be used to allocate resources to the PDSCH or indicaterelease of the PDSCH resources allocated for downlink semi-staticscheduling.

Assuming that the downlink subframe set includes downlink subframes of Icomponent carriers and that the i^(th) component carrier has J_(i)downlink subframes, the sequence of carrier first and then subframerefers to, in the downlink subframe set, generating DAI values fordownlink subframes in all component carriers at downlink subframe time,and then generating DAI values for downlink subframes in all componentcarriers at next downlink subframe time, and the rest may be deduced byanalogy. The DAI values for the downlink subframes in all componentcarriers at the downlink subframe time may be generated according to anysequence. For ease of operation, the DAI values may be generatedaccording to an ascending order or descending order of numbers of thecomponent carriers where the downlink subframes are located. Forexample, in the downlink subframe set, a value of a DAI corresponding toa downlink subframe Q_(ij) that has a PDCCH to be sent may be obtainedby mapping the number L_(ij) of downlink subframes. L_(ij) indicates thenumber of subframes, where the number of subframes is obtained byaccumulatively counting, according to the sequence of carrier first andthen subframe, downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent andare among the j^(th) downlink subframe Q_(ij) in the i^(th) carrier anddownlink subframes before the downlink subframe Q_(ij), and

${I \geq 1},{1 \leq i \leq I},{1 \leq j \leq J_{i}},{K \leq {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{I}\; {J_{i}.}}}$

The number of downlink subframes in each component carrier may be thesame, and may also be different. The following description is based onthe case where the number J of downlink subframes in each componentcarriers is the same.

For example, Table 2 is a value comparison table for a downlink subframeset.

1. Table 1

TABLE 2 Component Subframe Number Carrier Number 1 2 3 4 1 1 3 1 2 2 4 2

As shown in Table 2, in an LTE-A system, the number of aggregatedcomponent carriers is 2, and each component carrier has four downlinksubframes, namely, a corresponding downlink subframe set includes eightdownlink subframes. During transmission by using a bundling mode,response information of downlink subframes in two component carriers istransmitted on a same physical uplink channel, for example, a PUCCH. Inthe downlink subframe set, six downlink subframes Q have the PDCCH to besent, namely Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, Q₂₂, Q₁₃, and Q₂₃. The PDCCH is used toallocate resources to the PDSCH or indicate release of the PDSCHresources allocated for downlink semi-static scheduling. Duringtransmission by using the bundling mode, the value of the DAI of thedownlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent needs to be determined.In this embodiment, the base station may map, according to a presetrule, the number L_(ij) of subframes into the DAI value X_(ij) of thedownlink subframe Q_(ij), where 1≦i≦2,1≦j≦4, and the number L_(ij) ofsubframes is obtained by accumulatively counting, according to thesequence of carrier first and then subframe, downlink subframes whichhave the PDCCHs to be sent and are among the downlink subframes whoseresponse information is sent on the same physical uplink channel. Inthis embodiment, the sequence of first carrier and then subframe may be{carrier 1 subframe 1, carrier 2 subframe 1, carrier 1 subframe 2,carrier 2 subframe 2, carrier 1 subframe 3,carrier 2 subframe 3, carrier1 subframe 4, carrier 2 subframe 4}. The downlink subframes that havethe PDCCH to be sent may be in a sequence of {carrier 1 subframe 1,carrier 2 subframe 1, carrier 1 subframe 2, carrier 2 subframe 2,carrier 1 subframe 3, carrier 2 subframe 3}, namely, corresponding toQ₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, Q₂₂, Q₁₃ and Q₂₃. L₁₁ corresponding to Q₁₁ is 1, L₂₁corresponding to Q₂₁ is 2, L₁₂ corresponding to Q₁₂ is 3, L₂₂corresponding to Q₂₂ is 4, L₁₃ corresponding to Q¹³ is 5, and L₂₃corresponding to Q₂₃ is 6. In this embodiment, the preset rule may beX_(ij)=(L_(ij)−1)mod n+1, where n=2^(x), and x is the number of bits ofthe DAI, for example x=2. Therefore, the DAI value for Q₁₁ is 1, the DAIvalue for Q₂₁ is 2, the DAI value for Q₁₂ is 3, the DAI value for Q₂₂ is4, the DAI value Q₁₃ is 1, and the DAI value for Q₂₃ is 2.

The generating the value of the DAI according to the preset rule and thesequence of carrier first and then subframe in step 101 may include:

According to a first value-obtaining rule, the DAI value of the downlinksubframe that has the PDCCH to be sent is obtained by accumulativelycounting, according to the sequence of carrier first and then subframe,downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent and are among acurrent downlink subframe in a current carrier and downlink subframesbefore the current downlink subframe. Specifically, the formula (1) maybe used to map L_(ij) to obtain the DAI value X_(ij).

X _(ij)=(L _(ij)−1)mod n+1   (1)

L_(ij) indicates the number of subframes, where the number of subframesis obtained by accumulatively counting, according to the sequence ofcarrier first and then subframe, downlink subframes which have thePDCCHs to be sent and are among the j^(th) downlink subframe Q_(ij) inin the i^(th) carrier and the downlink subframes before the downlinksubframe Q_(ij), where n=2^(x), and x is the number of bits of the DAI.

Alternatively, the generating the value of the DAI according to thepreset rule and the sequence of carrier first and then subframe in step101 may include:

According to a second value-obtaining rule, the DAI value of thedownlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent is obtained byaccumulatively counting, according to the sequence of carrier first andthen subframe, downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent andare among a current downlink subframe in a current carrier and downlinksubframes before the current downlink subframe, and the DAI values ofthe last two downlink subframes that have the PDCCH to be sent are thesame. Specifically, if after the j^(th) downlink subframe in the i^(th)carrier, a downlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent exists, theformula (2) may be used to map L_(ij) to obtain the DAI value X_(ij).

X _(ij) =L _(ij) mod n+1   (2)

If after the j^(th) downlink subframe in the i^(th) carrier, a downlinksubframe that has the PDCCH to be sent does not exist, the formula (1)may be used to map L_(ij) to obtain the DAI value X_(ij).

X _(ij)=(L _(ij)−1)mod n+1   (1)

L_(ij) indicates the number of subframes, where the number of subframesis obtained by accumulatively, according to the sequence of carrierfirst and then subframe, counting downlink subframes which have thePDCCHs to be sent and are among the j^(th) downlink subframe Q_(ij) inin the i^(th) carrier and the downlink subframes before the downlinksubframe Q_(ij), where n=2^(x), and x is the number of bits of the DAI.

Alternatively, the generating the value of the DAI according to thepreset rule and the sequence of carrier first and then subframe in step101 may include:

According to a third value-obtaining rule, the DAI value of the downlinksubframe that has the PDCCH to be sent is set to a value obtained byaccumulatively counting, according to the sequence of carrier first andthen subframe, downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent andare in all carriers at the time of the current and previous downlinksubframes. Specifically, the formula (3) may be used to map L^(ij) toobtain the DAI value X_(ij).

X _(ij)=(max{l _(ij) ,i=1, . . . , I}−1)mod n+1   (3)

L_(ij) indicates the number of subframes, where the number of subframesis obtained by accumulatively counting, according to the sequence ofcarrier first and then subframe, downlink subframes which have thePDCCHs to be sent and are among the j^(th) downlink subframe Q_(ij) inthe i^(th) carrier and the downlink subframes before the downlinksubframe Q_(ij), where n=2^(x), and x is the number of bits of the DAI.

A person skilled in the art may understand that other preset rules mayalso be used for generating the DAI by mapping, and implementationprinciples of generating the DAI by using other preset rules are thesame, which are not repeatedly described here.

Step 102: Send the PDCCH to the user equipment, where the PDCCH carriesthe DAI.

The base station may send PDCCHs to the UE, and these PDCCHs carry theDAI generated by mapping. Carrying the DAI may refer to representing theDAI by using x bits of information in the DCI, or, after a cyclicredundancy check (Cyclic Redundancy Check, hereinafter referred to asCRC) is added in the DCI, performing scrambling for the CRC by using theDAI, and then sending the DCI carrying the DAI information on thedownlink control channel.

The UE may receive the PDCCH sent by the base station, andaccumulatively count the received PDCCHs to obtain the total numberU_(DAI) of PDCCHs. In addition, the UE may obtain the value V_(DAI)^(DL) of the DAI on the last PDCCH among the received PDCCHs. The UE maydetect, according to the V_(DAI) ^(DL) and the U_(DAI), whether a PDCCHis lost during receiving the PDCCHs, and feeds back response informationto the base station according to a detection result. Further, if U^(DAI)is greater than 0 and different from the number of subframes indicatedby V_(DAI) ^(DL), namely, U_(DAI)>0 and DAI V_(DAI) ^(DL)≠(U_(DAI)−1)modn+1 , the UE detects that at least one PDCCH of the downlink subframesis lost; if U DAI is greater than 0 and equal to the number of subframesindicated by VAI_(DAI) ^(DL), namely, U_(DAI)>0 and V_(DAI)^(DL)=(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1, the UE detects that no PDCCH is lost. When theUE detects that at least one PDCCH of the downlink subframes is lost, ifthe physical uplink channel is not a PUSCH but a PUCCH, the UE does notfeed back response information to the base station; if the physicaluplink channel is a PUSCH, the UE feeds back a NACK to the base station.When the UE detects that no PDCCH is lost, if the physical uplinkchannel is not a PUSCH but a PUCCH, the bundled response information iscarried on the PUCCH corresponding to the last received PDCCH and sentto the base station; if the physical uplink channel is a PUSCH, thebundled response information is carried on the PUSCH and sent to thebase station.

In another embodiment of a signaling processing method according to thepresent invention, after step 102, the method may further include:receiving response information carried on the physical uplink channeland sent by the UE, and detecting whether the PDCCH of the downlinksubframes is lost.

Specifically, when the physical uplink channel is a PUCCH, it isdetected, according to whether the PUCCH is a PUCCH corresponding to thelast PDCCH sent by the base station to the UE, whether the last PDCCH islost. When the physical uplink channel is a PUSCH, it is detected,according to information about the number of downlink subframes, wherethe number of downlink subframes is indicated by the scrambling codeadded in the response information, whether the last PDCCH is lost. Whenthe physical uplink channel is a PUCCH and no response information isreceived, it is detected that a PDCCH is lost.

By taking the values of the DAI shown in Table 2 and the physical uplinkchannel being a PUCCH as an example, if the UE receives the downlinksubframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, Q₂₂, Q₁₃, and Q²³ that have the PDCCH, the UEmay obtain that the total number U_(DAI) of PDCCHs is 6, and the DAIvalue V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the last downlink subframe Q²³ is 2, so thatV_(DAI) ^(DL)=(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1, and then the UE detects that no PDCCHis lost. Therefore, the UE carries the bundled response information ofthe six downlink subframes on the PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH ofthe downlink subframe Q²³ and sends the response information to the basestation. In this case, the base station may determine, through theresource for transmitting the response information, namely, transmittingthe response information on the PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH of thedownlink subframe Q₂₃, that the UE receives all the PDCCHs. Therefore,the base station does not mistakenly determine an ACK from DTX. Foranother example, if the UE receives the downlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁,Q₁₂, and Q₂₂, namely, the UE fails to receive the last two downlinksubframes Q₁₃ and Q₂₃, the UE detects and obtains that the total numberU^(DAI) of PDCCHs is 4, and the DAI value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the lastdownlink subframe Q₂₂ is 4. In this case, V_(DAI) ^(DL)=(U_(DAI)−1)modn+1 and the UE detects that no PDCCH is lost. Therefore, the UE carriesthe bundled response information of the four downlink subframes on thePUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH of the downlink subframe Q₂₂ and sendsthe response information to the base station. In this case, the basestation may detect, through the resource for transmitting the responseinformation, namely, transmitting the response information on the PUCCHcorresponding to the PDCCH of the downlink subframe Q₂₂, that the UEdoes not receive all the PDCCHs. Because if the UE receives all thePDCCHs, the response information should be transmitted on the PUCCHcorresponding to the PDCCH of the downlink subframe Q²³. Moreover, thebase station may further know that the UE does not receive the PDCCHs ofthe downlink subframes Q₁₃ and Q₂₃. In this case, even though the basestation receives an ACK, the base station determines the responseinformation of the downlink subframe Q₁₃ and Q₂₃ as the DTX rather thanan ACK. Therefore, the base station does not mistakenly determine an ACKfrom the DTX. For another example, if the UE receives the downlinksubframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₃, and Q₂₃ , namely, the UE fails to receive themiddle two downlink subframes Q₁₂ and Q₂₂, the UE detects and obtainsthat the total number U^(DAI) of PDCCHs is 4, and the DAI value V_(DAI)^(DL) of the last downlink subframe Q₂₃ is 2. In this case, V_(DAI)^(DL)≠(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1 and the UE detects that a PDCCH is lost.Therefore, the UE does not feed back response information to the basestation. In this case, the base station does not receive any informationfrom the UE, and therefore considers that the UE does not detect thesent PDCCH, and retransmits the data in the downlink subframe.Therefore, the base station does not mistakenly determine an ACK fromthe DTX.

If L_(ij) is obtained by accumulatively counting according to thesequence of subframe first and then carrier, the value of L_(ij) ismapped to the DAI value according to a certain rule, and the DAI is senton the PDCCH. This method may also solve the problem solved by thisembodiment. However, the PDCCH scheduling of each subframe changesdynamically. Therefore, the value of L_(ij) calculated by this method isdetermined after scheduling of the current subframe. In the case of thesequence of subframe first and then carrier, whether one or multipledownlink subframes in multiple subsequent carriers have the PDCCH to besent needs to be predicted in the current downlink subframe. That is,the scheduling of the UE to be performed in a next subframe isdetermined in the current subframe. This increases complexity of ascheduler and causes a great limitation on the scheduler. According tothis embodiment, during the calculation of the value of L_(ij), it isunnecessary to consider whether the downlink subframes after the currentdownlink subframe have the PDCCH to be scheduled, and therefore thecomplexity of the scheduler is not increased.

It may be known from the foregoing that, in this embodiment, the DAIvalue of the downlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent canindicate the number of downlink subframes, where the number of downlinksubframes is obtained by accumulatively counting, according to thesequence of carrier first and then subframe, the downlink subframeswhich have the PDCCHs to be sent and are among the current downlinksubframe in the current carrier and the downlink subframes before thecurrent downlink subframe. In this way, no matter whether the UE detectsall PDCCHs sent by the base station or the UE does not detect one ormultiple PDCCHs, the base station does not mistakenly determine an ACKfrom the DTX, which reduces a transmission delay and improvestransmission efficiency.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a signaling processingmethod according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, accordingto this embodiment, when a user equipment sends response information onmultiple physical uplink channels, downlink subframes of all componentcarriers, where response information of the downlink subframes is senton a same physical uplink channel, form a downlink subframe set, wherean independent DAI is generated for each downlink subframe in thedownlink subframe set. In this case, downlink subframes of all componentcarriers, where response information of the downlink subframes is senton different physical uplink channels, form different downlink subframesets. Specifically, the method according to this embodiment may include:

Step 201: When a user equipment sends response information on multiplephysical uplink channels, downlink subframes of all component carriers,where response information of the downlink subframes is sent on a samephysical uplink channel, form a downlink subframe set.

The downlink subframe set includes the downlink subframes of allcomponent carriers, where the response information of the downlinksubframes is sent on the same physical uplink channel. When differentresponse information is sent on different physical uplink channels,multiple downlink subframe sets may be formed. The physical uplinkchannel includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In this embodiment, an examplethat the user equipment has two downlink subframe sets and responseinformation of each downlink subframe set is transmitted on a physicaluplink channel is taken for illustration.

Step 202: An independent DAI is generated for each downlink subframe inthe downlink subframe set. In each downlink subframe set, a downlinkassignment index (DAI) is generated respectively for a downlink subframethat has a PDCCH to be sent, and a value of the DAI is generatedaccording to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier first and thensubframe.

Assuming that a downlink subframe set includes downlink subframes of Icomponent carriers, and that the i_(th) component carrier has J_(i)downlink subframes, the value of the DAI corresponding to the downlinksubframe which has the PDCCH to be sent and is in the downlink subframesof the downlink subframe set may be obtained by mapping the numberL_(ij) of downlink subframes. L_(ij) indicates the number of subframes,where the number of subframes is obtained by accumulatively counting,according to the sequence of carrier first and then subframe, downlinksubframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent and are among the j^(th)downlink subframe Q_(ij) in the i^(th) carrier and downlink subframesbefore

the downlink subframe Q_(ij), where

${I \geq 1},{1 \leq i \leq I},{1 \leq j \leq J_{i}},{K \leq {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{I}\; {J_{i}.}}}$

Table 3 is a value comparison table for a downlink subframe setaccording to this embodiment.

TABLE 3

As shown in Table 3, in an LTE-A system, the number of aggregatedcomponent carriers may be 3, and each component carrier has fourdownlink subframes, namely, there are 12 downlink subframes in total. Inthese 12 downlink subframes, seven downlink subframes Q, namely, Q₁₁,Q₂₁, Q₃₁, Q₁₂, Q₁₃, Q₂₃, and Q₃₄, have the PDCCH to be sent. In thisembodiment, if the UE may simultaneously transmit K physical uplinkchannels, the following description is based on the example that K=2.The UE may simultaneously transmit two physical uplink channels, thebase station may divide the downlink subframes in the foregoing threecomponent carriers into two downlink subframe sets. As shown in the partenclosed by the bold lines in Table 3, the downlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁,Q₁₂, Q₂₂, Q₁₃, and Q¹⁴ are divided into a group to form a downlinksubframe set, which may be marked as the 1^(st) downlink subframe set;the downlink subframes Q³¹, Q₃₂, Q₂₃, Q₃₃, Q₂₄ and Q₃₄ are divided intoa group to form another downlink subframe set, which may be marked asthe 2^(nd) downlink subframe set. In each downlink subframe set, thevalue of the DAI corresponding to the downlink subframe Q_(ij) that thathas the PDCCH to be sent is obtained by mapping L_(ij). L_(ij) isobtained by accumulatively counting, according to the sequence ofcarrier first and then subframe, downlink subframes which have thePDCCHs to be sent and are among the downlink subframe Q_(ij) anddownlink subframes before the downlink subframe Q_(ij). Duringtransmission in a bundling mode, response information of the downlinksubframes in the 1^(st) downlink subframe set is sent on one physicaluplink channel; and response information of the downlink subframes inthe 2^(nd) downlink subframe set is sent on another physical uplinkchannel. In the 1^(st) downlink subframe set, the downlink subframesthat have the PDCCH to be sent are Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, and Q₁₃; in the 2^(nd)downlink subframe set, the downlink subframes that have the PDCCH to besent are Q₃₁, Q₂₃, and Q₃₄. In this embodiment, the base station maymap, according to a preset rule, the number of subframes into the DAIvalue X^(ij) of the downlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, and Q₁₃, where thenumber L_(ij) of subframes is obtained by accumulatively counting,according to the sequence of carrier first and then subframe, thedownlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, and Q₁₃ which have the PDCCH to besent and among the downlink subframes in the 1^(st) downlink subframesset, where response information of the downlink subframes in the 1^(st)downlink subframe set is sent on a physical uplink channel. In thiscase, the sequence of carrier first and then subframe may be {carrier 1subframe 1, carrier 2 subframe 1, carrier 1 subframe 2, carrier 1subframe 3}. That is, L₁₁ corresponding to the downlink subframe Q₁₁ is1, L21 corresponding to Q₂₁ is 2, L₁₂ corresponding to Q₁₂ is 3, and L₁₃corresponding to Q₁₃ is 4. In this embodiment, the preset mapping rulemay be X_(ij)=(L_(ij)−1)mod n+1, where n=2^(x), and x is the number ofbits of the DAI, for example, x=2. Therefore, X₁₁ corresponding to thedownlink subframe Q₁₁ is 1, X₂₁ corresponding to Q₂₁ is 2, X₁₂corresponding to Q₁₂ is 3, and X₁₃ corresponding to Q₁₃ is 4. In the1^(st) downlink subframe set, other downlink subframes do not have thePDCCH; therefore, the DAI values corresponding to these downlinksubframes are null. The base station may map, according to a presetrule, the number L_(ij) of subframes into the DAI value X_(ij) of thedownlink subframes Q₃₁, Q₂₃, and Q₃₄, where the number L_(ij) ofsubframes is obtained by accumulatively counting, according to thesequence of carrier first and then subframe, the downlink subframes Q₃₁,Q₂₃, and Q₃₄ which have the PDCCH to be sent and are among the downlinksubframes Q₃₁, Q₃₂, Q₂₃, Q₃₃, Q₂₄ and Q₃₄ in the 2^(nd) downlinksubframe set, where response information of the downlink subframes Q₃₁,Q₃₂, Q₂₃, Q₃₃, Q₂₄ and Q₃₄ in the 2^(nd) downlink subframe set is senton another physical uplink channel. In this case, the sequence ofcarrier first and then subframe may be {carrier 3 subframe 1, carrier 2subframe 3, carrier 3 subframe 4}. That is, L₃₁ corresponding to thedownlink subframe Q³¹ is 1, L₂₃ corresponding to Q₂₃ is 2, and L₃₄corresponding to Q₃₄ is 3. In this embodiment, the preset rule may alsobe X_(ij)=(L_(ij)−1)mod n+1, where n=2^(x), and x is the number of bitsof the DAI, for example, x=2. Therefore, X₁₁ corresponding to thedownlink subframe Q₁₁ is 1, L₃₁ corresponding to the downlink subframeQ₃₁ is 1, L₂₃ corresponding to Q₂₃ is 2, and L₃₄ corresponding to Q₃₄ is3. In the 2^(nd) downlink subframe set, other subframes do not have thePDCCH; therefore, the DAI values for these downlink subframes are null.

In this embodiment, the value of the DAI may be generated according toany one of the foregoing three value-obtaining rules, and details arenot repeatedly described here.

Step 203: A PDCCH is sent to the UE, where the PDCCH carries the DAI.

In another embodiment of a signaling processing method according to thepresent invention, after step 203, the method may further include:receiving response information carried on the physical uplink channeland sent by the UE, and detecting whether the PDCCH of the downlinksubframes is lost. This is the same as that of the first embodiment andis not repeatedly described here.

It should be noted that the foregoing embodiment only takes the examplethat the number of component carriers is 2 or 3, and the number ofdownlink subframes in each component carrier is 4 for illustration. Aperson skilled in the art may understand that in the LTE-A system, morecomponent carriers may be aggregated as required and each componentcarrier may also include more downlink subframes. In addition, groupingmodes are not limited to the grouping mode of the three componentcarriers in Table 3. Implementation principles of other grouping modesare the same as that of the grouping mode shown in Table 3, and are notrepeatedly described here.

It can be known from the foregoing that, in this embodiment, the DAIvalue of the downlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent canindicate the number of downlink subframes, where the number of downlinksubframes is obtained by accumulatively counting, according to thesequence of carrier first and then subframe, downlink subframes whichhave the PDCCHs to be sent and are among the current downlink subframein the current carrier and downlink subframes before the currentdownlink subframe. In this way, no matter whether the UE detects allPDCCHs sent by the base station or the UE does not detect one ormultiple PDCCHs, the base station does not mistakenly determine an ACKfrom DTX, which reduces a transmission delay and improves transmissionefficiency.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a signaling processingmethod according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, themethod in this embodiment may include:

Step 301: Receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by abase station, where the PDCCH carries a downlink assignment index (DAI),and a value of the DAI is generated according to a preset rule and asequence of carrier first and then subframe.

The PDCCH may be used to allocate resources for a PDSCH or indicaterelease of PDSCH resources allocated for downlink semi-staticscheduling. A DAI is respectively generated for a downlink subframe thathas a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to be sent in a downlinksubframe set, where the value of the DAI is generated according to thepreset rule and the sequence of carrier first and then subframe. Thedownlink subframe set may include downlink subframes of all componentcarriers, where response information of the downlink subframes is senton a same physical uplink channel. The physical uplink channel mayinclude a PUCCH or a PUSCH. The downlink subframe set may includedownlink subframes of I component carriers, and the i^(th) componentcarrier has J_(i) downlink subframes. For example, in the downlinksubframe set, a value of a DAI corresponding to the downlink subframeQ_(ij) that has the PDCCH to be sent may be obtained by mapping thenumber L_(ij) of downlink subframes. L_(ij) indicates the number ofsubframes, where the number of subframes is obtained by accumulativelycounting, according to the sequence of carrier first and then subframe,downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent and are among thej^(th) downlink subframe Q_(ij) in the i^(th) carrier and downlinksubframes before the downlink subframe Q_(ij), where

${I \geq 1},{1 \leq i \leq I},{1 \leq j \leq J_{i}},{K \leq {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{I}\; {J_{i}.}}}$

As shown in Table 2, in an LTE-A system, the number of aggregatedcomponent carriers is 2, and each component carrier has four downlinksubframes, namely, a corresponding downlink subframe set includes eightdownlink subframes. During transmission by using a bundling mode,response information of the downlink subframes in two component carriersis transmitted on a same physical uplink channel. In the downlinksubframe set, six downlink subframes Q, namely, Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, Q₂₂, Q₁₃,and Q₂₃, have the PDCCH to be sent. The PDCCH is used to allocateresources to the PDSCH or indicate release of the PDSCH resourcesallocated for downlink semi-static scheduling. During transmission byusing the bundling mode, the value of the DAI of the downlink subframethat have the PDCCH to be sent needs to be determined. In thisembodiment, the base station may map, according to a preset rule, thenumber L_(ij) of subframes into the DAI value X_(ij) of the downlinksubframe Q_(ij), where 1≦i≦2,1≦j≦4, and the number L_(ij) of subframesis obtained by accumulatively counting, according to the sequence ofcarrier first and then subframe, downlink subframes which have thePDCCHs to be sent and are among the downlink subframes whose responseinformation is sent on the PUCCH. In this embodiment, the sequence offirst carrier and then subframe may be {carrier 1 subframe 1, carrier 2subframe 1, carrier 1 subframe 2, carrier 2 subframe 2, carrier 1subframe 3, carrier 2 subframe 3, carrier 1 subframe 4, carrier 2subframe 4}. The downlink subframes that have the PDCCH to be sent maybe in a sequence of {carrier 1 subframe 1, carrier 2 subframe 1, carrier1 subframe 2, carrier 2 subframe 2, carrier 1 subframe 3, carrier 2subframe 3}, namely, corresponding to Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, Q₂₂, Q₁₃, and Q₂₃.L₁₁ corresponding to Q₁₁ is 1, L₂₁ corresponding to Q₂₁ is 2, L₁₂corresponding is Q₁₃ is 3, L₂₂ corresponding to Q₂₂ is 4, L₁₃corresponding to Q¹³ is 5, and L₂₃ corresponding to Q²³ is 6. In thisembodiment, the preset rule may be X_(ij)=(L_(ij)−1)mod n+1, wheren=2^(x), and x is the number of bits of the DAI, for example x=2.Therefore, the DAI value for Q¹¹ is 1, the DAI value for Q₂₁ is 2, theDAI value for Q₁₂ is 3, the DAI value for Q₂₂ is 4, the DAI value Q₁₃ is1, and the DAI value for Q₂₃ is 2.

As shown in Table 3, in an LTE-A system, the number of aggregatedcomponent carriers may be 3, and each component carrier has fourdownlink subframes, namely, there are 12 downlink subframes in total. Inthe 12 downlink subframes, seven downlink subframes Q, namely, Q₂₁, Q₃₁,Q₁₂, Q₁₃, Q₂₃, and Q₃₄, have the PDCCH to be sent. In this embodiment,if the UE may simultaneously transmit K physical uplink channels, thefollowing description is based on the example that K=2. The UE maysimultaneously transmit two physical uplink channels, the base stationmay divide the downlink subframes in the foregoing three componentcarriers into two downlink subframe sets. As shown in the part enclosedby the bold lines in Table 3, the downlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, Q₂₂,Q₁₃, and Q₁₄ are divided into a group to form a downlink subframe set,which may be marked as the 1^(st) downlink subframe set; the downlinksubframes Q³¹, Q₃₂, Q₂₃, Q₃₃, Q₂₄ and Q₃₄ are divided into a group toform another downlink subframe set, which may be marked as the 2^(nd)downlink subframe set. In each downlink subframe set, the value of theDAI corresponding to the downlink subframe Q_(ij) that that has thePDCCH to be sent is obtained by mapping L_(ij). L_(ij) is obtained byaccumulatively counting, according to the sequence of carrier first andthen subframe, downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent andare among the downlink subframe Q_(ij) and downlink subframes before thedownlink subframe Q_(ij). During transmission in a bundling mode,response information of the downlink subframes in the 1^(st) downlinksubframe set is sent on one physical uplink channel; and responseinformation of the downlink subframes in the 2^(nd) downlink subframeset is sent on another physical uplink channel. In the 1^(st) downlinksubframe set, the downlink subframes that have the PDCCH to be sent areQ₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, and Q₁₃; in the 2^(nd) downlink subframe set, thedownlink subframes that have the PDCCH to be sent are Q₃₁, Q₂₃, and Q₃₄.In this embodiment, the base station may map, according to a presetrule, the number L_(ij) of subframes into the DAI value X_(ij) of thedownlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, and Q₁₃ where the number L_(ij) ofsubframes is obtained by accumulatively counting, according to thesequence of carrier first and then subframe, the downlink subframes Q₁₁,Q₂₁, Q₁₂, and Q₁₃ which have the PDCCH to be sent and among the downlinksubframes in the 1^(st) downlink subframe set, where responseinformation of the downlink subframes in the 1^(st) downlink subframeset is sent on the same physical uplink channel. In this case, thesequence of carrier first and then subframe may be {carrier 1 subframe1, carrier 2 subframe 1, carrier 1 subframe 2, carrier 1 subframe 3}.That is, L₁₁ corresponding to the downlink subframe Q₁₁ is 1, L₂₁corresponding to Q₂₁ is 2, L₁₂ corresponding to Q₁₂ is 3, and L₁₃corresponding to Q₁₃ is 4. In this embodiment, the preset rule may beX=(L_(ij)−1)mod n+1, where n=2^(x), and x is the number of bits of theDAI, for example, x=2. Therefore, X₁₁ corresponding to the downlinksubframe Q₁₁ is 1, X₂₁ corresponding to Q₂₁ is 2, X₁₂ corresponding toQ¹² is 3, and X₁₃ corresponding to Q₁₃ is 4. In the 1^(st) downlinksubframe set, other downlink subframes do not have the PDCCH; therefore,the DAI values corresponding to these downlink subframes are null. Thebase station may map, according to a preset rule, the number L_(ij) ofsubframes into the DAI value X_(ij) of the downlink subframes Q₃₁, Q₂₃,and Q₃₄, where the number L_(ij) of subframes is obtained byaccumulatively counting, according to the sequence of carrier first andthen subframe, the downlink subframes Q₃₁, Q₂₃, and Q₃₄ which have thePDCCH to be sent and are among the downlink subframes in the 2^(nd)downlink subframe set, where response information of the downlinksubframes in the 2^(nd) downlink subframe set is sent on anotherphysical uplink channel. In this case, the sequence of carrier first andthen subframe may be {carrier 3 subframe 1, carrier 2 subframe 3,carrier 3 subframe 4}. That is, L₃₁ corresponding to the downlinksubframe Q³¹ is 1, L₂₃ corresponding to Q₂₃ is 2, and L₃₄ correspondingto Q₃₄ is 3. In this embodiment, the preset rule may beX_(ij)=(L_(ij)−1)mod n+1, where n=2 ^(x), and x is the number of bits ofthe DAI, for example, x=2. Therefore, X₁₁ corresponding to the downlinksubframe Q₁₁ is 1, L₃₁ corresponding to the downlink subframe Q₃₁ is 1,L₂₃ corresponding to Q₂₃ is 2, and L₃₄ corresponding to Q₃₄ is 3. In the2^(nd) downlink subframe set, other subframes do not have the PDCCH;therefore, the DAI values for these downlink subframes are null.

In this embodiment, the value of the DAI may be generated according toany one of the three value-obtaining rules described in the firstembodiment, and details are not repeatedly described here.

Step 302: Obtain the total number U_(DAI) of received PDCCHs, and obtainthe value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI on the last PDCCH among the receivedPDCCHs.

The UE may receive the PDCCH sent by the base station, andaccumulatively count the received PDCCHs to obtain the total numberU_(DAI) of PDCCHs. In addition, the UE may obtain the value V_(DAI)^(DL) of the DAI on the last PDCCH among the received PDCCHs.

Step 303: Send response information to the base station on acorresponding physical uplink channel according to the total numberU_(DAI) of PDCCHs and the value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI on the lastPDCCH.

The UE may detect, according to values of V_(DAI) ^(DL) and U_(DAI),whether a PDCCH is lost during receiving of the PDCCHs, and feeds backresponse information to the base station according to a detectionresult. Specifically, if U^(DAI) is greater than 0 and different fromthe number of subframes indicated by V_(DAI) ^(DL), namely, U_(DAI)>0and V_(DAI) ^(DL)≠(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1, the UE detects that at least onePDCCH of the downlink subframes is lost; if U_(DAI) is greater than 0and equal to the number of subframes indicated by V_(DAI) ^(DL), namely,U_(DAI)>0 and V_(DAI) ^(DL)=(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1, the UE detects that noPDCCH is lost. When the UE detects that at least one PDCCH of thedownlink subframes is lost, if the physical uplink channel is not aPUSCH but a PUCCH, the UE does not feed back response information to thebase station; if the physical uplink channel is a PUSCH, the UE feedsback a NACK to the base station. When the UE detects that no PDCCH islost, if the physical uplink channel is not a PUSCH but a PUCCH, bundledresponse information is carried on the PUCCH corresponding to the lastreceived PDCCH and sent to the base station; if the physical uplinkchannel is a PUSCH, bundled response information is carried on the PUSCHand sent to the base station.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a signaling processingmethod according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, on thebasis of the method shown in FIG. 3, step 303 in the method in thisembodiment may further include:

Step 303 a: Detect that at least one PDCCH is lost if U_(DAI) is greaterthan 0 and different from the number of subframes indicated by V_(DAI)^(DL).

Step 303 b: If it is detected that at least one PDCCH is lost and thephysical uplink channel is not a PUSCH, send no response information tothe base station.

Step 303 c: If it is detected that at least one PDCCH is lost and thephysical uplink channel is a PUSCH, generate a NACK message and send theNACK message to the base station.

By taking the values of the DAI shown in Table 2 and the physical uplinkchannel being a PUCCH as an example, if the UE receives the downlinksubframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, Q₂₂, Q₁₃, and Q²³, the UE may obtain that thetotal number U_(DAI) of received PDCCHs is 6, and the DAI value V_(DAI)^(DL) of the last received PDCCH is 2, so that V_(DAI)^(DL)(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1, and then the UE detects that no PDCCH is lost.Therefore, the UE carries the bundled response information of the sixdownlink subframes on the PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH of thedownlink subframe Q₂₃ and sends the response information to the basestation. In this case, the base station may determine, through theresource for transmitting the response information, namely, transmittingthe response information on the PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH of thedownlink subframe Q₂₃, that the UE receives all the PDCCHs. Therefore,the base station does not mistakenly determine an ACK from DTX, andupper-layer retransmission is not required. For another example, if theUE receives the downlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₂, and Q₂₂, namely, theUE fails to receive the last two downlink subframes Q₁₃ and Q₂₃, the UEobtains that the total number U_(DAI) of received PDCCHs is 4, and theDAI value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the last received PDCCH is 4. In this case,V^(DAI) ^(DL)=(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1 and the UE detects that no PDCCH islost. Therefore, the UE carries the bundled response information of thefour downlink subframes on the PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH of thedownlink subframe Q₂₂ and sends the response information to the basestation. In this case, the base station may judge, through the resourcefor transmitting the response information, namely, transmitting theresponse information on the PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH of thedownlink subframe Q₂₂, that the UE does not receive all the PDCCHs.Because if the UE receives all the PDCCHs, the response informationshould be transmitted on the PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH of thedownlink subframe Q₂₃, and the base station may further know that the UEdoes not receive the PDCCHs of the downlink subframes Q₁₃ and Q₂₃. Inthis case, even though the base station receives an ACK, the basestation determines the response information of the downlink subframe Q₁₃and Q₂₃ as the DTX rather than an ACK. Therefore, the base station doesnot mistakenly determine an ACK from the DTX. For another example, ifthe UE receives the downlink subframes Q₁₁, Q₂₁, Q₁₃, and Q₂₃, namely,the UE fails to receive the middle two downlink subframes Q₁₂ and Q₂₂,the UE obtains that the total number U_(DAI) of received PDCCHs is 4,and the DAI value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the last received PDCCH is 2. In thiscase, V_(DAI) ^(DL)≠(U_(DAI)−1)mod n+1 and the UE detects that a PDCCHis lost. Therefore, the UE does not feed back response information tothe base station. In this case, the base station does not receive anyinformation from the UE, and therefore considers that the UE does notdetect the sent PDCCH, and retransmits the data in the downlinksubframe. Therefore, the base station does not mistakenly determine anACK from the DTX.

In this embodiment, when the response information is sent to the basestation on multiple physical unlink channels, for different downlinksubframes whose response information is sent on different physicalunlink channels, the obtaining the U_(DAI) and the V_(DAI) ^(DL) andsending the response information to the base station are performedrespectively for each downlink subframe set.

In the foregoing embodiment of the signaling processing method accordingto the present invention, the DAI value of the downlink subframe thathas the PDCCH to be sent can indicate the number of downlink subframes,where the number of downlink subframes is obtained by accumulativelycounting, according to the sequence of carrier first and then subframe,downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent and are among thecurrent downlink subframe in the current carrier and downlink subframesbefore the current downlink subframe. In this way, no matter whether theUE detects all PDCCHs sent by the base station or the UE does not detectone or multiple PDCCHs, the base station does not mistakenly determinean ACK from the DTX, which reduces a transmission delay and improvestransmission efficiency.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a basestation according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the basestation in this embodiment includes: a generating module 11 and asending module 12. The generating module 11 is configured to generate,in a downlink subframe set, a downlink assignment index (DAI)respectively for a downlink subframe that has a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) to be sent, where a value of the DAI isgenerated according to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier first andthen subframe. The sending module 12 is configured to send the PDCCH toa user equipment, where the PDCCH carries the DAI.

The downlink subframe set includes downlink subframes of all componentcarriers, where response information of the downlink subframes is senton a same physical uplink channel.

Implementation principles of the base station according to thisembodiment is the same as that of the signaling processing methodembodiment shown in FIG. 1, and are not repeatedly described here.

In another embodiment of the base station according to the presentinvention, when the use equipment sends response information on multiplephysical uplink channels, the downlink subframes of all the componentcarriers, where the response information of the downlink subframes issent on the same physical uplink channel, form a downlink subframe set,and the generating module generates an independent DAI for each downlinksubframe in the downlink subframe set.

Implementation principles of the base station according to thisembodiment is the same as that of the signaling processing methodembodiment shown in FIG. 2, and are not repeatedly described here.

In the base station according to the foregoing embodiment, the DAI valueof the downlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent can indicate thenumber of downlink subframes, where the number of downlink subframes isobtained by accumulatively counting, according to the sequence ofcarrier first and then subframe, the downlink subframes which have thePDCCHs to be sent and are among the current downlink subframe and thedownlink subframes before the current downlink subframe. In this way, nomatter whether the UE detects all PDCCHs sent by the base station or theUE does not detect one or multiple PDCCHs, the base station does notmistakenly determine an ACK from DTX, which reduces a transmission delayand improves transmission efficiency.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a userequipment according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, theuser equipment in this embodiment may include: a receiving module 13, anobtaining module 14, and a feedback module 15. The receiving module 13is configured to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)sent by a base station, where the PDCCH carries a downlink assignmentindex (DAI), and a value of the DAI is generated according to a presetrule and a sequence of carrier first and then subframe. The obtainingmodule 14 is configured to obtain the total number U_(DAI) of receivedPDCCHs, and obtain a value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of a DAI on a last PDCCH amongthe received PDCCHs. The feedback module 15 is configured to sendresponse information to the base station on a corresponding physicaluplink channel according to the total number U_(DAI) of PDCCHs and thevalue V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI on the last PDCCH.

Implementation principles of the UE according to this embodiment is thesame as that of the signaling processing method embodiment shown in FIG.3, and are not repeatedly described here.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of a userequipment according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, on thebasis of the user equipment shown in FIG. 6, the feedback module 15 inthis embodiment may include: a detecting unit 151 and a feedback unit152. The detecting unit 151 is configured to detect that at least onePDCCH is lost if U^(DAI) is greater than 0 and is different from thenumber of subframes indicated by V_(DAI) ^(DL). The feedback unit 152 isconfigured to, when the detecting unit detects that at least one PDCCHis lost, send no response information to the base station if thephysical uplink channel is not a PUSCH; and generate a NACK message andsend the NACK message to the base station if the physical uplink channelis the PUSCH.

Implementation principles of the user equipment according to thisembodiment is the same as that of the signaling processing methodembodiment shown in FIG. 4, and are not repeatedly described here.

In the user equipment according to the foregoing embodiment, the DAIvalue of the downlink subframe that has the PDCCH to be sent canindicate the number of downlink subframes, where the number of downlinksubframes is obtained by accumulatively counting, according to thesequence of carrier first and then subframe, the downlink subframeswhich have the PDCCHs to be sent and are among the current downlinksubframe and the downlink subframes before the current downlinksubframe. In this way, no matter whether the UE detects all PDCCHs sentby the base station or the UE does not detect one or multiple PDCCHs,the base station does not mistakenly determine an ACK from DTX, whichreduces a transmission delay and improves transmission efficiency.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are used todescribe the technical solutions of the present invention only, but arenot intended to limit the technical solutions of the present invention.Although the present invention is described in detail by referring tothe exemplary embodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art shouldunderstand that various modifications or equivalent replacements maystill be made to the technical solutions of the present invention;however, these modifications and equivalent replacements cannot make themodified technical solutions depart from the spirit and protection scopeof the technical solutions of the present invention.

1. A signaling processing method, comprising: in a downlink subframeset, generating, by a base station, a downlink assignment index (DAI)respectively for a downlink subframe that has a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) to be sent, wherein a value of the DAI isgenerated according to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier first andthen subframe; and sending, by the base station, the PDCCH to a userequipment, wherein the PDCCH carries the DAI.
 2. The signalingprocessing method according to claim 1, wherein the PDCCH is used toallocate resources to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), orindicate release of PDSCH resources allocated for downlink semi-staticscheduling.
 3. The signaling processing method according to claim 1,wherein the downlink subframe set comprises downlink subframes in allcomponent carriers, wherein response information of the downlinksubframes is sent on a same physical uplink channel.
 4. The signalingprocessing method according to claim 3, wherein when the user equipmentsends response information on multiple physical uplink channels, thebase station forms a downlink subframe set by using the downlinksubframes in all the component carriers, wherein the responseinformation of the downlink subframes is sent on the same physicaluplink channel, and an independent DAI is generated for each downlinksubframe in the downlink subframe set.
 5. The signaling processingmethod according to claim 1, wherein the preset rule comprises:obtaining the DAI of a current downlink subframe by accumulativelycounting downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to be sent and areamong the current downlink subframe in a current carrier and downlinksubframes before the current downlink subframe.
 6. The signalingprocessing method according to claim 1, wherein the preset rulecomprises: obtaining the DAI of a current downlink subframe byaccumulatively counting downlink subframes which have the PDCCHs to besent and are among the current downlink subframe in a current carrierand downlink subframes before the current downlink subframe, and settingan equal DAI value for last two downlink subframes that have the PDCCHto be sent.
 7. The signaling processing method according to claim 1,wherein the preset rule comprises: obtaining the DAI of a currentdownlink subframe by accumulatively counting downlink subframes whichhave the PDCCHs to be sent and are in all carriers at the time of thecurrent and previous downlink subframes.
 8. A signaling processingmethod, comprising: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by a base station, wherein thePDCCH carries a downlink assignment index (DAI), and a value of the DAIis generated according to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier firstand then subframe; obtaining, by the UE, the total number U_(DAI) ofreceived PDCCHs, and obtaining a value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of a DAI on a lastPDCCH among the received PDCCHs; and sending, by the UE, responseinformation to the base station on a physical uplink channelcorresponding to the UE according to the total number U^(DAI) of PDCCHsand the value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI on the last PDCCH.
 9. Thesignaling processing method according to claim 8, the method furthercomprising: detecting that at least one PDCCH is lost if U^(DAI) isgreater than 0 and different from the number of subframes indicated byV_(DAI) ^(DL).
 10. The signaling processing method according to claim 9,the method further comprising: if it is detected that at least one PDCCHis lost and the physical uplink channel is a PUCCH, sending no responseinformation to the base station; and if it is detected that at least onePDCCH is lost and the physical uplink channel is a PUSCH, generating aNACK message and sending the NACK message to the base station.
 11. ABase Station, comprising: a generating module, configured to generate,in a downlink subframe set, a downlink assignment index (DAI)respectively for a downlink subframe that has a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) to be sent, wherein a value of the DAI isgenerated according to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier first andthen subframe; and a transmitter, configured to send the PDCCH to a userequipment (UE), wherein the PDCCH carries the DAI generated by thegenerating module.
 12. The base station according to claim 11, whereinthe downlink subframe set comprises downlink subframes in all componentcarriers, wherein response information of the downlink subframes is senton a same physical uplink channel; and when the user equipment sendsresponse information on multiple physical uplink channels, the basestation forms a downlink subframe set by using the downlink subframes inall the component carriers, wherein the response information of thedownlink subframes is sent on the same physical uplink channel, and thegenerating module generates an independent DAI for each downlinksubframe in the downlink subframe set.
 13. A user equipment (UE),comprising: a receiver, configured to receive a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) sent by a base station, wherein the PDCCHcarries a downlink assignment index (DAI), and a value of the DAI isgenerated according to a preset rule and a sequence of carrier first andthen subframe; an obtaining module, configured to obtain the totalnumber U_(DAI) of PDCCHs received by the receiver, and obtain a valueV_(DAI) ^(DL) of a DAI on a last PDCCH among the PDCCHs received by thereceiving module; and a feedback module, configured to send responseinformation to the base station on a corresponding physical uplinkchannel according to the total number U_(DAI) of the PDCCHs and thevalue V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI on the last PDCCH, wherein the totalnumber U^(DAI) of the PDCCHs and the value V_(DAI) ^(DL) of the DAI onthe last PDCCH are obtained by the obtaining module.
 14. The userequipment according to claim 13, wherein the feedback module comprises:a detecting unit, configured to detect that at least one PDCCH is lostif U_(DAI) is greater than 0 and different from the number of subframesindicated by V_(DAI) ^(DL); and a feedback unit, configured to, when thedetecting unit detects that at least one PDCCH is lost, send no responseinformation to the base station if the physical uplink channel is not aPUSCH, and generate a NACK message and send the NACK message to the basestation if the physical uplink channel is the PUSCH.
 15. A computerprogram product, characterized in, comprising computer program code,which, when executed by a computer unit, will cause the computer unit toperform the steps of a user terminal according to claim 1.